Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
It was the eyes that commanded the most attention – a moody grey full of intelligence, their intensity softened only by a slight glint of amusement.
He stood with the easy grace of someone used to being noticed, his posture impeccable, but with an ease that belied his outward formality.
Not a single human in existence exuded that amount of charm and self-possession.
This late stranger?
He was a vampire.
“Everyone, it is my great honor,” Ophelia said, giving a genuine smile, “to introduce to you Elias Thornwell.” She reached to touch the arm of the man at her side. “Elias, this is my family.” Ophelia waved down the table. “My husband, Lucian. My son, Dante.” Then, with much more emphasis, she said, “And, of course, my daughter, Pandora.”
“The pleasure is mine,” Elias said, pressing a hand to his heart as his gaze swept the table, landing on Pandora. That lightness in his eyes increased, but Pandora was too confused by his presence to notice.
At least until her mother led Elias over to her side.
And Pandora finally picked up on that mischievous look in her mother’s eyes.
“Pandora,” Elias said as he slid into the seat beside her. She could smell his cologne, something rich and spicy, yet understated. It should have been overwhelming in a pleasant way. But all she could think was that Victor smelled so much more delicious. “I have heard so much about you.”
It was right then that Pandora put it all together.
This wasn’t just a random dinner guest.
And the seat beside her hadn’t just accidentally been left empty.
This had all been planned.
By her mother.
Who didn’t approve of her daughter’s plan to marry a human.
So she’d brought in the most handsome, wealthy, and charming vampire she could find as another, more suitable, love interest.
“Funny,” Pandora said, aware of Victor’s intense gaze from across the table. “I haven’t heard a thing about you.”
13
“She didn’t!” Lucy gasped in Pandora’s ear.
Shortly after Elias had joined the table, he’d proceeded to compliment everything, from the room to the food, charming everyone with an ease that Pandora had both admired and hated in equal measure. Since he also seemed to be making Victor uncomfortable, Pandora had offered to go get more wine in the kitchen.
And had promptly grabbed her mobile and called her best friend to tell her what her mother had done.
“She did,” Pandora said, checking the labels of the bottles of wine. “And now Victor seems tense and broody, while Elias just lays the charm on thick. My father is half in love with him already. Mostly because he’s a brilliant businessman and can ‘take care of’ me.”
“You’re about to be an heiress. You don’t need to be taken care of.”
“I know, right?” she said, pulling three bottles of wine to the center of the island to bring back into the dining room.
“What are you going to do? Confront your mum?”
“Not in front of everyone. But I can’t just let her think this is OK.”
“Darling, are you hiding away?” Ophelia called out.
“I have to go,” Pandora whispered to Lucy.
“Call me later! And get me a picture of the hottie.”
Pandora quickly tucked her mobile back into her handbag as her mother’s heels clicked into the kitchen. Unsurprisingly, Elias was right behind her.
“Yes, my love?” Ophelia looked back toward the dining room, as if hearing her husband call for her. But Pandora knew her game. “Elias, can you help Pandora with the wine?”
“Of course,” Elias said, even giving Ophelia a proper little bow.
“Happy engagement,” Elias said, his gaze slipping to Pandora’s hand. “The human?” he asked.
“Obviously,” Pandora replied.
“Not your mother’s first choice for you, I take it.” Elias reached for the corkscrew and started to open the first bottle of wine.
Pandora gave him a tight nod as she passed him the next bottle to open.
It was right then that she smelled vanilla, leather, and cinnamon wafting toward her, the scent immediately comforting.
“Dante sent me in here,” Victor said, giving Elias a hard look. Victor made his way to Pandora’s side, making the two of them a united front against the interloper. “Your cousin Jasper was trying to tell me about some bar that I supposedly walk past every day,” he continued. “But I swear there’s nothing there …”
Pandora shared a look with Elias, knowing what Jasper was likely referencing. A vampire club. The kind of place that was glamoured so humans couldn’t see it.
“Jasper’s probably drunk,” Pandora said, shrugging it off. “You didn’t have to choke down too much of that food, I hope.”
“No.” Victor winced a bit. “But no one is really eating,” he added with a casual shrug. “Not even Ravenna.”
“I’m so sorry about that,” Pandora said. “My family has really … unusual tastes.”
Across from her, Elias’s lips twitched.
Victor shrugged that off. “All families have their food quirks. My mother refuses to ever use garlic in her cooking.”